Beryl Jones
"Once we were happy in our own country and we were seldom hungry, for then the two-leggeds and the four-leggeds lived together like relatives, and there was plenty for them and for us. "' ''-- Black Elk Background ---- Jim was old when she came along. He thought he was done raising kids, but mother nature thought otherwise. When his daughter passed away, it was up to him to take in little Beryl, his granddaughter, and bring her up proper. And he tried. Growing up in a rural state was no picnic, and he knew it. The city kids got all the new toys, new clothes. Though he was lucky, he felt, that his granddaughter cared little for those things. Paints and brushes and things to make messes on seem to suit her just fine. He was never without ideas for birthday or Christmas gifts, at least. They lived in the woods, off the main road. Off enough that the only way in or out was a dirt road that turned to horrible /mud/ in the spring. The little house he had with the rickety barn beside it was home. Had been for near forty years, since he bought it way back when. While there wasn't much by way of livestock, he knew enough about gardening that he was able to sustain himself, and Beryl. Sometimes the winters got tough, but luckily there were food stamps to help bring home pasta, or other things that wouldn't go bad in the pantry. Like Cambell's. Good ol' soup. During fall and winter, she'd go to school, but spring and summer, she stuck around the property. Learned how to tend to the crops, work a tractor. Somedays when Jim's bones hurt him so, she'd take on the chores all by her lonesome. The years went on like this, almost pastoral in terms of simplicity. Beryl went to school, came home, worked on painting and took up carving after a while. Jim paid bills, watched football on monday nights, and worked his rear off during the planting and harvesting seasons. Around the age when Prom started to become a concern, things changed. On a Friday night, Jim was at the store. Having parked the ol' Ford on the side of the road for convenience, he stood out in the road with Beryl to load supplies into the back of the pickup. The bar a ways down the street was emptying of patrons, and one who had tipped back a few too many Buds came careening down the street. Jim's reflexes weren't what they used to be, and with the Bronco bearing down, the old man braced himself for the impact. It never came, though. A deafening /BANG/ of metal, and a rush of air, but when Jim opened his eyes, he was untouched. The hulking mass of brown fur and unhappiness beside him may have had something to do with it. Seconds passed, and soon the beast shrank down again into Beryl, who was left staring at her hands, buck nekkid in the middle of the street. Throwing his coat around her shoulders, Jim piled the both of them into the truck and sped off toward home. Obviously, she had questions. Luckily, Jim had some answers. He'd gone through this before, he explained. Julia, his wife, had been Gurahl. Beryl now too, it appeared. Having shared what of the race he knew, Jim felt it was time that she went to seek out her people and learn from them. He drew her a map, stuffed her in a nice pickup (It was going to be a graduation present, but hey. Necessity), and sent her on her way. Into the mountains, farther north. Two years would pass before she would leave the mountains. A year and a half of that spent in Gallivant, learning the stories and traditions, ways and hows of all that it meant to be Gurahl. Being one of the few cubs had its advantages. Her Buri-Jaan took her many places, and to meet many others, and to learn things she may not have had the chance to, were there more cubs to tend to. Before her second winter, she transitioned into Uzmati, and became the full-moon's vessal. The Autumn Council named her Kovi, which began her transition into adulthood. At a time when the Pattern Breaker was encroaching on the mountain range, she was called to battle. The fight lasted for three days, and four nights. On the fourth night, the Pattern Breaker sent his horrific beast to them, and found the Mountain Guardians ready. With her Buri-Jaan beside her, and the others of the tribe that lived near, the foe was brought down, disposed of. Having provided claws and blood, and ultimately being the one to steal the beast's final breath, Beryl was brought before the Council of Autumn, and deemed suitable to begin the passage into Verden, which would make her a full member of the tribe, and the Gurahl. For this to happen, she was bade to leave the lands of her Upbringing, and passed into Kojubut upon arrival at her new home. Farther south, in the hills of Wyoming, she put her knowledge of survival to the test. Without mountains, and with little streams, the harsher environment was to test her will. She learned from the scattered River Keepers that lived near small streams, and in barren rock faces. Learned their stories, their unique histories. She made friends of some of them, and their kin. The nearby Indian Reservation provided shelter for many nights, while stories were shared. While among the kin of her River Keeper companions, she met a man; and with all stories that contain those words, there was love, there were long nights, and eventually there was a child. Three years she spent in the company of the River Keepers and their kin, watching her son take his first steps, cut his first teeth, and try to dance while the celebration drums boomed around the fires. The seasons were changing, however, and her dreams began to pull her back to the mountains. It was time to share what she had learned with her home, and prepare for the next phase that she was to undertake. Traveling on foot may be long and ardurous, but there's a certain freedom in it. It took her the better part of a month to return to the woods of her Gallivanting, and she was pleased to see more cubs had come into the fold. During the first week of her arrival, there were many Fests, several of which she was asked to tell stories for. On the seventh day, the Council of Autumn called her forth, and elevated her to Verden, accepting her as a fully grown Gurahl. As the weeks became months, and Buri-Jaan were taken up with their charges, she was asked to teach. Accepting the honor, Beryl (now known as Crossroads), took on a young Gurahl. When a year passed, and the youth passed into his own Uzmati phase, Beryl's time as mentor was over. News of Jim's passing came at the time when she began preparing to seek out new mountains, and new places. As was writ in his will, the farm was sold, and the money went right to Beryl. A month after the funeral, Beryl went south, into Colorado. Some of the money was used to purchase a plot of land, deep in the woods. A small cabin was built, and the earth beside it churned and transformed into a garden large enough to sustain one person. With the Web at her hands, she was able to live in solitary, tending the woods and streams nearby, and selling her paintings remotely. As with most Gurahl, the solitary life suited her, and she had no intentions of changing it. As with her grandfather's case, however, Mother Nature had different plans. Necessity brought her out of solitary. This time, in the form of a Garou cub, firsting near her home when attacked by a puma. He had been hiking where he ought not, and the female cougar wasn't at all happy when he had gotten too close to where she'd hidden her young. Beryl was forced to intervene before either Cub or Puma were killed. Scaring off the feline was easy, trying to contain a frenzying Garou was less so. Their languages were different, and it wasn't until the boy woke (bound and gagged, no less) that she was able to communicate to him at all. Such is the way of scared Cubs, hysterics ensued. Using brute force for a second time that day, Beryl laid the boy low, piled him into her pick up, and drove on toward the nearest Caern. So much for staying hidden. *'''Personality *Like many of her ilk, Beryl is something of a loner. While she'll not turn away a visitor or someone in need, it is rare that she openly invites folk into her home and territory. It isn't that she doesn't enjoy company, however. Some of the rules of being social are just.. a bit beyond her. As a nurturer, the young, old, and ill receive the majority of her attentions and care when they come to her. Beryl takes her role as healer for Gaia's children seriously, coupled with the Aspect of Bear she has chosen to follow, The Great She-Bear, she falls into the stereotype of 'Mother Grizzly' often, mostly without realizing it. Slow to anger, rich in humor and stories, she isn't hard to get along with, provided that those interacting with her know when to cut the posturing act out. Her bounty is shared, though greed tends to rouse her ire. What can be taken should be asked for, and will often be granted. As an artist, Beryl tends to fall into her own zone when working. When actively continuing her own, personal Lifework, this is especially true. Despite being in human-skin to work on it, her attention is near-spiritual, and the act of painting, or weaving (whichever part it is she's working on) is less material, and more a channel for her spirit to find physical ground that will last longer than she herself will. Hooks and GMInfo ---- Located in the middle of nowhere, it is likely that those wandering the woods will come upon her cabin and garden. Beryl has a child living in Wyoming. He is Kinfolk, and 1/2 Native American. Her former Buri-Jaan lives in British Columbia and is called Steven Lightfoot. He's an old fart. She does not like spiders. Tolerates them, but is not very fond of them. Sheet ---- Category:Gurahl Category:Current PCs Category:Mountain Guardians